The organization said that more than 90 important sites on the moon could risk destruction if space tourism is left unregulated.

The preservation organization’s list, the World Monuments Watch, usually sticks to cultural heritage sites within Earth’s bounds. However, with humanity recently ramping up (uncrewed, for now) visits to the Moon, concerns have grown over what that means for the future of the culturally significant marks we’ve left on its surface.

With a number of commercial missions heading to the Moon this year, heritage organisations are concerned about potential damage to historic sites.

Every two years, the nonprofit World Monuments Fund releases a list of cultural heritage sites it deems most at risk of disappearing because of threats like war or climate change. The line-up of landmarks usually includes historic temples,

The Moon has been added to the list of heritage places under threat by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) – a non-profit that puts out a list every two years of cultural heritage sites it deems under threat due to war and climate change.

The Moon has been added to the World Monuments Fund's list of endangered heritage sites, highlighting the need to protect humanity's lunar legacy amidst increasing space activity.

While the moon's nomination concentrated on the Apollo 11 landing site, WMF is considering the wider framework needed to protect historic sites connected with space exploration Green Grasshopper via Unsplash The World Monuments Fund’s (WMF) 2025 Watch list includes 25 sites,

Key artefacts include the pristine footprint left by Buzz Aldrin at Tranquility Base, the site of the first moon landing in 1969, and a plaque commemorating 14 American and Soviet astronauts who died on missions before 1971.

The Moon has been added to the World Monuments Watch (WMW) list of 25 endangered sites for 2025, alongside Gaza’s cultural heritage and terracotta sculptures in a Portuguese monastery. View on euronew